The Turkish government has been preparing to make yet another move which would add insult to injury for those who have been concerned over plight of freedom of expression in the country, as a Cabinet member has confirmed they are drafting a bill which would grant the prime minister and the communication minister the ability to block access to certain webpages without a court order if they deem them posing a danger to “national security and public order.” Reported by Hurriyet daily news

Minister for Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communications Lütfi Elvan, speaking with daily Vatan, recalled that they have already announced bringing in legislation which outlines pecuniary penalties up to 500,000 Turkish Liras for those who don’t implement court rulings to block access to certain webpages or remove content from certain webpages.

Noting that this was the first article of the draft, Elvan said there was a second article planned.
“On matters related to public order and national security, action will be taken upon notification by either the prime ministry or the related ministry if there is a delay, as stated in Article 22 of our Constitution,” Elvan elaborated.

Article 22 of the Constitution covers freedom of communication.

“Unless there exists a decision duly passed by a judge on one or several grounds regarding national security, public order, prevention of crime, protection of public health and public morals, protection of the rights and freedoms of others, or unless there exists a written order by an agency authorized by law in cases where a delay is prejudicial, on the above-mentioned grounds, communication shall not be impeded nor its secrecy be violated,” says the section of the article to which the minister referred.

“The decision of the authorized agency shall be submitted for approval by the judge having jurisdiction within 24 hours. The judge shall announce his decision within 48 hours from the time of seizure; otherwise, seizure shall automatically be lifted. Public establishments or institutions where exceptions to the above may be applied are defined by law,” says the same article.

In September, as part of an omnibus bill, the government granted Turkey’s Telecommunications Directorate (TİB) extraordinary authority to monitor Internet users and block websites and their content without court permission.

The bill was, however, overturned by the Constitutional Court a month later.

December/25/2014